Disturbed by Sifting Topic

I was disturbed to see that On Wisconsin [Fall 2012 Sifting & Winnowing] printed a nostalgic piece about the late Stephen Ambrose, who plagiarized not one, but several of his books. For the full story on this discredited historian, I suggest readers turn to Peter Hoffer’s book Past Imperfect. Ethics and careful analysis — not fame — are at the heart of good historical writing.

Nancy Isenberg MA’83, PhD’90 Professor of History, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Published in the Winter 2012 issue